Fresh Start
by Angel Tsuiraku
Summary: PLEASE R&R! Co-written with my very very close friend, Meilin. It's about how a foreign exchange student changes the lives of the pilots and their friends by playing matchmaker.
1. The Arrival

A/N: This is an Email fic a friend of mine and I have been working on for the past two or three days. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!  
  
~*~  
  
She stood in the airport, having arrived earlier than expected. Her two bags lay next to her on the blue carpet and she looked around with lost eyes. She had gotten a good look at a picture of the person she would be staying with, yet she had already forgotten what she was looking for. With a frustrated sigh she sat down in one of the hard plastic chairs and continued to scan the airport with her emerald eyes.  
  
Suddenly she felt a soft hand on her shoulder. She turned quickly to see a familiar face. She smiled kindly, yet almost embarrassed at the man she would be staying with. He was older, about 40 or so, and he was relatively short. His eyes were soft and kind, the most welcoming eyes she had ever seen in her life.  
  
"Hello there. I take it you are Meilin Tsukishiro, yes?" He asked with a warm smile.  
  
"Hai- I mean, yes. I am." She responded, almost letting herself forget that she was no longer on the Japanese colony. "And you are Louie O'Malley?" He nodded and picked up one of her bags, then motioned for her to fallow him out of the airport. Picking up her other bag, she followed. For some reason the man seemed to stick out, he seemed brighter than everyone else...almost as though there were a glow about him. It was easy for her to follow him through the crowds.  
  
When they arrived at the car, Louie tossed (carefully) her bags into the trunk then opened the passenger door for her.  
  
"A few girls that I know very well are getting your room ready for you right now." He smiled nervously. "Forgive them if they have messed it up too badly." Meilin laughed lightly as Louie walked around to the driver's side.  
  
~*~  
  
"A little to the left Blade!" Angel called as she lay flat on her back six inches from the ceiling. She was covered in paint and frustrated from trying to get Blade to position the fresco perfectly. It was no easy task. She brushed her highlighted blonde hair from her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.  
  
"Blade!!!" Mako called with more than a frustrated tone. "Please, will you just move the thing to the left!?" The girl's red hair matched her fiery personality and she, at this moment in time, was letting all of the fire show. "She will be here any minute and we are not even close to done!"  
  
"All right all right." Blade said in a sarcastic voice as she moved the fresco into position.  
  
"The windows are done." Lian said with pride as she stepped back and sipped her coffee. She smiled proudly and sat down on the bed. She brushed her small braid back behind her shoulders and took another sip of coffee. Suddenly the bed collapsed.  
  
"Oh Crap!" Mako exclaimed letting her head drop into both hands.  
  
"I can fix it." Aisha said as she pulled a tool box over. She opened it up and pulled out a screw driver that happened to be sitting next to a candy bar. "So that's where that went!" She grinned at Mako who was not in the mood for Aisha's candy obsessions. Aisha frowned and got to work on the bed.  
  
"Calm down Mako-chan. We'll have the room done before she-" Suddenly Angel's words were cut off by the sound of Louie approaching the room from the restaurant. Mako looked to Angel with an "I told you so" expression on her face.  
  
"Were you going to say "before she gets here??" Mako asked sarcastically as she rushed to help Aisha with the bed.  
  
They were just finished putting the last screw in place when Louie opened the door. All of the girls in room looked at the new comer. A beautiful young woman stood in the doorway with curious green eyes and soft features. Her silky dark brown hair slid off of her shoulders as she turned her head to look around the unfinished room. Her eyes were wide for a Japanese girl, yet she was unmistakably Asian.  
  
Angel climbed down from the fresco and ran over to Meilin, cutting off Mako who was attempting to greet her.  
  
"Hi! I'm Angel." She reached for the girls hand, then withdrew it quickly, a panicked look on her face. She quickly bowed then stepped back and smiled nervously. Meilin grinned kindly and bowed in return.  
  
"Konnichiwa. Makoto desu." Mako greeted as she took Meilin's hand and shook it. Meilin smiled warmly, feeling a little relieved to have another Japanese girl around.  
  
"Meilin Tsukishiro." She replied.  
  
Blade and Aisha both walked over at the same time, though Aisha was still carrying a screwdriver in her hand.  
  
"I'm Blade." She said to the girl with a smile that seemed to barely exist on her face. She then turned and went to clean up the buckets of paint.  
  
"I'm Aisha!" Aisha greeted as she took Meilin's hand and shook it with enthusiasm that almost cause poor Meilin to fall over.  
  
"You're gonna shake her to death." Lian commented as she set her coffee on the table by Meilin's bed. "I'm Lian." She smiled.  
  
"Lian!!!" Angel sighed. "Please put a coaster under that hot cup of coffee! You're going to ruin the new table!"  
  
"Soooooory." Leon picked the cup back up and headed into the resteraunt. "Let's let her get settled in." The others nodded and smiled at Meilin as they passed. Once everyone was gone, Louie walked up to Meilin and placed a fatherly hand on her shoulder.  
  
"If you need anything, just ask. Anyone of us will be glad to help you, alright?" He asked her with a gentle look in his eyes.  
  
"I understand. Thank you Mr. O'Malley." She bowed, but when she stood back up, she was wrapped in a warm hug. Louie then turned and left the room.  
  
"Call me Louie." He said as he left. "Everyone else does."  
  
~*~  
  
"She's a doll." Aisha said as she leaned back in her chair and put her feet up on the table.  
  
"She is isn't she?..." Angel commented as she joined Aisha at the round table in the middle of the empty resteraunt. It was Sunday, and the resteraunt was closed so that Louie could rest. Angel always found it peaceful when empty. She held the warm cup of tea in both hands, letting its warmth climb up her arms. "She from the same colony as Heero?"  
  
"Yeah." Mako answered immediately as she too joined the small group at the table. Lian was still in the kitchen getting more coffee, but still contributed to the conversation.  
  
"When are we taking her to meet the guys?" She asked as she walked over and stood in the doorway to the resteraunt.  
  
"I think in about an hour. We gotta let her get settled in." Mako answered then took a sip of her tea.  
  
A light creak was heard from behind them and they all turned to see Meilin standing at the back of the resteraunt.  
  
"You okay?" Mako asked. The girl smiled shyly and put a hand behind her neck.  
  
"Could someone help me open the window?" She asked in a quiet voice. Angel jumped out of her seat, setting her tea cup on the table half full.  
  
"I will!" She offered and followed Mei into the room. Meilin closed the door behind them and walked swiftly over to the window.  
  
"It won't budge." She shoved at the window, but as she had said, it would not budge. Angel approached it, running her delicate fingers along the edges.  
  
"Here we go." She said triumphantly. "Lian accidentally shoved some of this bamboo stuff up into the window." With a little grin she yanked the bamboo free of the window. The only problem was that she yanked the whole thing down. The bamboo curtains fell at their feet. Angel frowned and looked to Mei. "I can fix that..." she said a little embarrassed.  
  
Meilin stared at the bamboo, then burst out laughing. Angel smiled, though her face was turning bright red. She pushed the window open, Meilin's adorable laugh filling the room.  
  
"You're so funny!" Mei exclaimed as she sat on the bed.  
  
"How so?" Angel asked, joining her. The two looked at each other, an immediate bond of friendship forming.  
  
"You don't have to worry about the curtains!" Meilin told her as she looked over at the now open window. "I'll fix them when I want to." She laughed with Angel a bit longer, then there was a short pause. Meilin turned her green eyes to Angel "Your so pretty." she sighed. 


	2. Pretty Angie

Angel's eyes widened at Mei's soft admission. She couldn't believe her ears. For so long she'd been told how cute she was…and then this lovely young Japanese girl tells her that she's pretty.  
  
"Thanks, Mei…you have no idea what that means to me."  
  
"Can I…ask you a favor?"  
  
"After that compliment?" Angel beamed. "Sure."  
  
"…I don't know anyone here, and I'd really like it if you…would be my big sister?"  
  
"Gosh, you really are the flattering type." Angel laughed with some embarrassment, placing a hand on the back of her head. "Sure, I'd love to be your big sister. I just have one condition: you have to be a bit livelier than this."  
  
Mei's green eyes suddenly flared with warmth. "Lively you want, lively you get!"  
  
Angel smiled as she heard the door to the restaurant open. "Good, you're going to need to be with this crowd," she said.  
  
"Why? Who's here?"  
  
"God's gifts to women," was all Angel would say as she led the way into the restaurant.  
  
There were six of them. Six cut, charming, tall men. Four of them were arguing good-naturedly about sports. The other two were silent. But it was clear from the sudden overflowing warmth in the girls' expressions that these men were friends.  
  
Mei tugged on Angel's sleeve. "Angie…are all your friends super- models?"  
  
Angel blinked, then laughed. "Well, I told you they were God's gifts to women, didn't I?"  
  
It was the tall blonde man who sobered first, his eyes coming to rest on Mei. His smile was intimate and warm. Almost as welcoming as Louie's was. He had electric aquamarine eyes and wavy blonde hair. He was tall, broad shouldered, and very handsome, though in an almost boyish way.  
  
"My name is Quatre Raberba Winner. You must be Meilin Tsukishiro," he said, bowing to touch his lips to her hand. She turned bright red.  
  
"Y-yes…thank you."  
  
"You have such startling green eyes…very unusual for a Japanese woman. Still, very beautiful."  
  
Mei was too stunned to speak. Casually Angel reached over and flicked Quatre's ear.  
  
"Knock it off, Casanova," she teased lightly. "We don't want her to be mute, do we?" 


	3. Introductions and Invitations

"Oh, no, its alright." Mei replied half in a daze. Mako began to laugh, though there was an uneasy tone to it, and walked swiftly over to Mei, and placed a hand on each of her shoulders.  
  
"This is Heero, Mei." She smiled and gently shoved Mei in the direction of the others.  
  
Mei's dazed look turned to a friendly, though confused smile. Heero barley smiled back. His dark eyes just starred at her for a moment, then he bowed swiftly.  
  
Duo beamed at Mei, pulling the poor dazed girl close for one of his famous bear-hugs.  
  
"Duo Maxwell, otherwise known as the God of Death!" He winked as Mei's eyes widened. "I may run and hide, but I never tell a lie!"  
  
"Which is a lie in itself," Angel put in, laughing. She looked at Mei. "He's American."  
  
Soothed by that explanation, Mei turned back to the others.  
  
"Trowa Barton." That was all she got from the tall, green-eyed young man in the back. She nodded and bowed slightly, unsure of what else to do.  
  
"Chang Wufei." The Chinese man's hard onyx eyes met Mei's emerald green ones. She bowed, recognizing his pause as her cue, and he returned it.  
  
Suddenly the door was opened again. Everyone turned to see a tall, gorgeous, and for the most part, shirtless man to walk in. His eyes went straight to Meilin.  
  
"Hello, there, gorgeous? New in town?" he asked, then continued without waiting for her response. "Want me to help ease the homesickness?" He flashed her a devilish smile and a very lecherous wink.  
  
Angel watched this exchange with amusement, but noted that Quatre's hands were fisting into tight balls at his sides.  
  
"All right, you big horn-dog. Why don't you go fight Wufei or something. I'm sure Lian would enjoy that…" she muttered as she shoved him toward the door. With one last wink at Meilin, he disappeared.  
  
"Sorry about that…where were we?" Aisha murmured.  
  
After all of the introductions, the large groups sat at a table (or rather, two tables put together) to talk. Mei looked around at the group as they conversed. All of them but the one that kissed her hand seemed to be paired. She constantly caught him looking at her with content eyes aquamarine eyes. She smiled at him and then looked shyly to the tabletop.  
  
"I am holding a ball at my home." He suddenly spoke. "And of course, you are all invited." His eyes locked with Mei's for a moment, before she looked down again.  
  
"Yes!" Angel exclaimed with a large smile. "We can take Mei shopping for a pretty pretty dress!!"  
  
"What about us!?" Aisha asked with a grin.  
  
~*~  
  
"Hey!" Came a bright voice from the entrance to of the resteraunt. Quatre and the other boys turned to see a tall (incredibly tall) boy standing in the doorway. He had dark brown eyes and blonde hair, short and spiky for the most part, with light bangs. He was well built and had a very bright, happy aura too him. "Quatre!"  
  
"E-Eric!?" Quatre replied, a little surprised but mostly joyous. "Long time no see!"  
  
"Really." Eric smiled as the two exchanged friendly hugs. "How long it been? Five years?"  
  
"Yeah, a long time." The two smiled.  
  
"Eh... ya wanna fill us in pal?" Duo questioned as he put his feet up on the table and leaned back.  
  
"This is Eric. He is an old friend of mine, though... what are you doing here??" Quatre asked.  
  
"I'm here to apply for a job as a waiter. I'm living here in England now." He smiled a bright smile. "Where's the old guy?"  
  
"I heard that!" came the voice of Louie from the back of the restaurant. " And even though it is true I do not appreciate it." Eric and Louie smiled at each other as Louie entered the room. Eric ran up and wrapped the little man in a hug.  
  
"I missed ya Lou!"  
  
"Don't call me Lou!" Louie grinned as he wacked Eric on the back of the head. "And don't worry about applying, you get the job."  
  
"Whoa..." All of the boys remarked as Louie walked back into the kitchen and returned with an "O'Malley's" apron.  
  
"Niiiice." He commented sarcastically.  
  
"Yes. Even nicer- you start tomorrow." Louie grinned and headed back to the kitchen.  
  
Eric's surprised expression caused the rest of the guys to laugh. "So..." He said at last, recovering from shock. "Where are the girls? I know you have a girlfriend Quatre."  
  
Quatre smiled blankly as pictures of the lovely Japanese girl filled his mind.  
  
"He'll have one soon." Duo laughed.  
  
"She's gorgeous Eric! She's from Japan and she has shocking green eyes and dark brown hair... like the trees of a forest with their lush leaves in her eyes." Quatre remarked starring into nothingness. Eric's deadpanned expression caused the group to laugh once more.  
  
"The gals are out shopping if you wanted to know." DJ said as he stood and headed for the door. "If you all don't mind, I have work to do." And with that little remark, he left the restaurant.  
  
"He goin' to hell Louie?" Duo asked with a sarcastic grin on his face. It was followed by a firm smack from Wufei.  
  
"If you were funny, Duo, others would laugh."  
  
Suddenly laughter was heard as the girls reentered the resteraunt.  
  
"That was fast." Heero commented.  
  
"The shop is down the street, Heero." Mako responded as she walked to him and kissed him on the cheek. Eric stood starring with wide eyes at Meilin. She was laughing with Aisha about the dress that they tried to get Mako to try on. Mei turned, and Eric's eyes locked with hers. They starred for a moment, then one broke the silence.  
  
"Oh! You're new! That's why I didn't recognize you!" She bowed. "I'm Meilin." Eric frowned a little disappointed.  
  
"I'm Eric."  
  
"That's the one!" Quatre whispered into Eric's ear. "Gorgeous eh?" Eric's frown deepened and Angel was the first to notice. She said nothing, though, as Mako announced that she was heading home to get ready for the ball. Aisha and Lian agreed. The majority of the group left the building, leaving Eric, Angel, Mei, and Quatre alone. A little look from Quatre signaled for Angel to get Eric out of the room so that he could talk to Mei. Angel reluctantly grabbed Eric by the arm and oh-so-subtly yanked him out of the resteraunt.  
  
"Hey, hey, hey!" Eric exclaimed as he found himself in the kitchen.  
  
"Be quiet." Angel remarked, more annoyed at the situation than him. "I'm trying to listen." Both pressed their ears against the door.  
  
"So..." Quatre said to no one in particular. He was, obviously, desperate for something to say. Mei sat down at a table, looking as shy as she had when Louie found her alone in the airport. Quatre calmed himself down and sat next to her. "Why are you so shy?" Mei smiled shyly and shrugged a little. "You're so beautiful."  
  
Mei's eyes shot over and locked with his. 


	4. Little Flirt

"Thank you, Mr. Winn—"  
  
"Call me Quatre, please." He caught her chin in his hands and gently lifted her face to meet her gaze. "Did it hurt, Meilin?"  
  
Startled, thinking Quatre knew more than he let on, she asked, "What?"  
  
"The fall from heaven."  
  
Those words, paired with his amazing aquamarine eyes, made Meilin melt into her seat.  
  
"Oh, Quatre…"  
  
"Shh…" He smiled. "Please, trust me. I would like nothing more than the chance to make you feel happy and welcome here. Please, go to the ball with me?"  
  
Mei looked into those soul-searching eyes and found herself nodding.  
  
"Yes…I'll go with you."  
  
Angel pulled back from the door, trying hard not to let her tears show. She could almost feel her heart splintering.  
  
Oh, what are you blubbering about? she told herself firmly. You knew there wasn't a chance, anyway! That's why you weren't supposed to get your hopes up.  
  
Eric touched her shoulder, offering quiet sympathy. His eyes went to the door, his face unusually somber.  
  
"Let me guess, you're head over heels in love with him," he said quietly.  
  
"No, no, that's not it at all…I…" But hearing it put like that, from someone else's lips, proved it. Her shoulders sagged. "Yes. Head over heels."  
  
"I think I fell in love with her at first sight."  
  
"Oh…I'm so sorry. Quatre tends to be terribly romantic and…ooohhh, when I get my hands on that Louie O'Malley!"  
  
"Did I hear my name?"  
  
Angel and Eric spun to face Louie. He appeared as if from nowhere, frowning at the door.  
  
"So this is all my fault, eh?"  
  
"Yeah! You brought her here!" Angel quieted. "And I really like her, too. She's my little sis. I'm so glad she's here, but…damn it all—she's some kind of Asian supermodel, isn't she?!" She slammed her fist against the wall. "And I'm so cute and adorable and sister-like." She sighed.  
  
Eric remained silent, then shook his head and headed for the door.  
  
"See you tomorrow, Lou!" he called over his shoulder.  
  
"Bright and early! And what did I tell you about calling me Lou!" the little man shouted back. He turned to Angel. "Oh, sweetheart, I'm sorry. You know I hate to see one of my girls in such pain."  
  
Angel smiled and shook her head, wiping the tears from her face. "Don't you fret, Louie. I'm okay. I knew better than to hope anyway."  
  
She got to her feet and went to grab her keys. "I'll be at the estate if you need me."  
  
Louie nodded, not fooled for a second. He sighed and turned to head back up to his room, when he heard Quatre say a sweet goodbye, and then leave.  
  
"3...2...1 and-" He whispered, and right when zero should have been said, Meilin burst into the kitchen, a wide smile on her face.  
  
"Mr. O- I mean.... Louie!! He's-"  
  
"Gorgeous?"  
  
"Yes and-"  
  
"Romantic?"  
  
"Definitely and-"  
  
"Perfect?"  
  
"Of course!... How did you...???" Mei looked at him funny for a moment, then smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck digging her face into his shoulder. "Wow! I cant believe how amazing it is here!! No problems! Nothing! And everyone is so happy and they all like me!! Oh Louie this is fantastic!"  
  
Louie smiled, though there was a sad twist in it. "I'm very glad for you Meilin."  
  
"I'm going to go finish un packing! I have to call Angel!!"  
  
"No!" Louie replied loudly. "... no..." Mei looked at him a little puzzled. "Unpack first... then we are going to eat dinner.... and I think she has other things to do. You can call her later." He smiled as best he could. Meilin hesitated, then smiled back.  
  
"Oh, okay." 


End file.
